The special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court on Wednesday granted bail to controversial Islamic preacher Dr. Zakir Naik’s close aide Aamir Gazdar in cases of money laundering.
The court had also issued a non-bailable warrant and filed a charge sheet against Mr. Gazdar in cases of money laundering.
The Enforcement Directorate had arrested Aamir Abdul Mannan Gazdar on February 16 and he has since been in judicial custody. The agency states that investigations have revealed that Mr. Gazdar deals with contracts of marble, namely, projects pertaining to fixing marbles inclusive of supplying as well as providing labour for fixing the marbles and also in trading of marbles locally. The said company has an annual turnover of ₹25-30 lakhs. Officials have also said that generation of huge amounts was possible only due to Mr. Gazdar, who has played a pivotal role in acquiring and disposing of cash.
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The officials also added that Mr. Gazdar has been a close aide of Dr. Naik for a long time and is director in six companies owned by him, including the Islamic Research Foundation and Harmony TV channel. Mr. Gazdar he says he has no knowledge of this as Dr. Naik has been controlling all the activities. On April 20, he filed a bail plea questioning the applicability of the charges under the PMLA.